The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed on Friday that the Scorpions raided the homes of top officials of the now defunct Saambou Bank earlier in the day.
However, NPA spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said further details were not yet available.
South African Broadcasting Corporation radio on Friday morning reported that the homes raided were those of former MD Johan Myburgh, former executive member Charles Edwards, and Jan Joubert, former MD of a Saambou affiliate.
The raids were carried out in search of documents relating to alleged insider trading.
Saambou went into liquidation in February 2002. Following an investigation, the Financial Services Board (FSB) recommended the NPA prosecute Myburgh and Edwards.
FSB official Rob Barrow said the board told the director of public prosecutions that the FSB’s insider-trading directorate had investigated certain share transactions concluded during August 2001 in respect of Saambou Holdings.
The investigation was based on the fact that Saambou changed its provisioning for bad debts and was going to have reduced headline earnings for the six months ending September 2001.
Dealing in Saambou shares in four share trading accounts were investigated. However, the directorate concluded there was insufficient evidence of these account holders having been in possession of price-sensitive information at the time the relevant transactions were concluded.
He said the directorate then learned that the South African Reserve Bank and investigators on their behalf compiled a report containing allegations of other possible contraventions or misconduct.
”If these allegations are proved in a court of law, the share transactions investigated by the insider-trading directorate, as well as previous transactions, could be a contravention of the Insider Trading Act,” Barrow said. — Sapa